The Winthrop Poll is a long-term survey initiative designed to keep public policy makers across the country in touch with the attitudes and opinions of citizens in South Carolina and the entire southern region. It also serves to inform South Carolinians, and southerners as a whole, of the opinions and views of their neighbors.

It is the only regular “snapshot” of public policy attitudes of the residents of the state of South Carolina and the South as a region. The survey methodology of the Social & Behavioral Research Lab has been vetted by top news organizations and their polling experts. The results have been covered by national and international news organizations including:

ABC News

CNN

MSNBC

NBC Nightly News

The New York Times

The Washington Post

The LA Times

The Miami Herald

Politico.com

News Hour (PBS)

NPR

BBC

AFP (Agence France-Presse)

Tokyo Broadcasting System

Trained interviewers administer the polls in the telephone survey research lab on campus. Results are shared with media, citizens, and public officials to help public policy makers across the country stay in touch with the attitudes and opinions of not only South Carolinians but also of those across the region and to track those opinions over time. The Social & Behavioral Research Lab first began intrastate polling in 2003. The first statewide poll took place in fall 2006. In addition to statewide polls, the Social & Behavioral Research Lab has become a leading regional polling entity with several Winthrop Polls focusing on the South as a region (AL, AR, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, TX, and VA).